


A Mother's Medicine

by MidknightMasquerade



Category: Fire Emblem: If | Fire Emblem: Fates
Genre: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Family, Family Fluff, Fluff, Gen, Light Angst, Mother-Daughter Relationship, Nohr | Conquest Route
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-09
Updated: 2016-05-09
Packaged: 2018-06-07 07:54:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,910
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6795634
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MidknightMasquerade/pseuds/MidknightMasquerade
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p></p><blockquote>
  <p>"Without another word, Flora wrapped her arms round and round that tiny torso until she enveloped her daughter in her embrace and she herself had found her face buried in the blanket of her baby girl. It smelled of the sunflowers that surrounded this estate, of the subtle scent of snow that sent memories of the Ice Tribe to the surface of her mind once more, and of the lingering aroma of illness that saturated the house of the diseased. 'I will never leave you, ever again.'"</p>
</blockquote><br/>Flora makes an unexpected stop at her daughter's estate to celebrate Mother's Day and discovers Kana sick as a wolfskin. What better medicine than motherly love, hot soup and the reconciliation of a dysfunctional family?
            </blockquote>





	A Mother's Medicine

**Author's Note:**

> In celebration of Mother's Day and of me finally marrying my beloved Flora on Conquest, I thought I ought to upload a little something-something. This is nothing all too special, I assure you, but I wished to show something cute and fluffy and happy before I upload my usual stories which apparently make even hardened men cry. No need for tears today, it's a holiday...except for the fact that I should be studying for finals, which always make me cry, but I digress.
> 
> This may or may not have been inspired for the fact that my mother left me all alone for a week starting today on Mother's Day while I'm ill. Happy Mother's Day to me?

Mother's Day had dawned anew, had it not?

She had deemed that this day possessed such a strange power to withdraw the deepest emotions from the innermost being of each man and woman on this earth. Why, there were those who rushed in droves to every inn and tavern the town wide to treat their dearest mothers to a heartwarming meal at a modest price. These were the lucky ones. These were the one whom had learned to rejoice on such an occasion.

She, on the other hand, fell into an entire other species of people that populated this planet. While the masses smothered their mothers with kisses and candies and roses by the dozen, there existed an entire sect of those who suffered through each and every second of this forsaken holiday. For those whose fate left them with an absentee mother, an abusive mother, or above all else, a mother who had been lost to drugs or to divorce or even...to death. This was the lot she had landed in life. Such was the grief she gladly bore to keep the pain at bay all the day long. At least, until the night drew near.

And now, this day held an entirely different meaning, for now, she found herself a mother to a baby of her own making. Had she the slightest clue on what some glorified servant girl was to do with such a considerable responsibility? Not at all. Such a burden seemed all the more cumbersome to one of her stature and of her character. Although her maternal instincts readily overtook her anxiety, she was naught but a child herself. What was this twenty-something-or-other-old doing, galavanting about with a girl of her own when she could not even care for herself or her equally-as-youthful husband? To that question, she saw no answer. Despite her incompetence and inexperience, despite the pain that the possibility of producing a child presented, she was convinced of one sole fact.

She would be a better mother to her baby than her mother ever was to her.  
Of this, she was assured.

\---

The Deeprealms never changed, did they?

Despite the passage of time, so considerably altered in this strange dimension she had yet to understand in its totality, the hills and fields of the Deeprealms seemed eternally still. April showers bring May flowers, as the saying goes. Flora always loathed that saying. As far as she was concerned, rainfall left the laundry damp and the fields far below the tower too full of flora that she would never see from the precipice of her prison. Funny, how she couldn't even see that which she was named after. Despite this, the flowers seemed always to be in bloom in the meadows that surrounded her daughter's abode. Rain or shine, the sunflowers rose to greet her as the grass beneath her shoes shivered from the chill of the Ice Tribe's sorcery. They were always swift to escape once they saw the stalactites sprouting in the wake of her walk. Such a shame.

When first she'd entered this intrepid dimension, she'd found herself hopelessly lost traversing through the trails that twisted and turned on the trip to the estate that hoped to house her child. The Deeprealms, as she discovered, made up for their bountiful beauty with a complete and utter lack of viable directions. Or mapmaking merchants. She swore that this was the sole place where that red-headed rogue of a dealer did not exist with her endless identical sisters. Despite her initial inability, Flora found herself navigating almost automatically now, weaving through the woods without a second thought to it until the cottage came into view.

Nestled between three babbling brooks and situated high atop a hill of flowers, it appeared as though it were something stolen straight out of a fairytale. A fairytale...yes, that was what they had wanted for their child. The type of perfection found only in novels and other such irrational and unrealistic works of fiction. This was war, Corrin had reminded her, and war was no place for children. She still could recall the horror haunting his features as fate forced him to subject his child to a life of solitude. Funny how she could remember such a sight, when her own vision waned behind a veil of unshed tears. At least this way there was no risk of harm coming to their child. Or at least, that's what they had convinced themselves of.

Flora forsook her feelings, pushing them aside as she ascended the hill. Kana, kind as she was, was all too empathetic. She could only imagine that dimpled face pressed against the window (with her nose smudging the panes - a mess her mother would be forced to clean for her later, no doubt), bearing a grin that stretched her baby fat wider than one would think it able to go, until it crumpled at the sight of her parent struggling to return the smile she so easily bore. She could not do that to Kana. Not now, not ever.

Strange as it seemed, no child awaited her arrival at the window. Nor at the door. In fact, despite her struggles to shake and shove the structure, the door refused to budge the slightest inch. Had she locked herself inside? Or worse, was she wandering around out here all alone? Flora couldn't allow herself to travel down whatever roads her thoughts threatened to wander. It was then that it occurred to her. This was a surprise. Of course Kana wouldn't be waiting for her - she wasn't aware that anyone was coming. She wasn't sure that she should be proud of such a fact or not. What kind of mother left her own child wanting and wishing and waiting each and every day on the off chance that they might see a familiar face climbing the hillside?

Retrieving her spare from the sleeve of her uniform, Flora fit the key into the lock, twisting and turning until she heard the telltale click of the mechanism inside and she knew she could enter. "Kana? Kana, dear, I'm home!" Flora's voice echoed through the corridors of the cottage, but no sound resounded elsewhere. No childish cheering, no puberty-ridden cracking of a high-pitched scream, nothing at all. Not even the crackling of the fireplace or the whisper of a lit wick awaited her inside. As she strode across the creaking floorboards to find a match for the fire, all that could be heard was the clatter-clack of her high heels against the ground. "Kana? Kana, where are you?" Still no reply. Flora attempted to convince herself that the aching suspicion that sprung up within her heart was nothing to be concerned with. Certainly, she was simply out sparring with Shiro or hunting for herbs with Midori. Kana could handle herself, or so she wished to believe.

As the maid made her way into the kitchen, she discovered a counter cluttered with...what _was_ this? Chopped up leaves, viscous liquids of shades she wished not to taste, and bottles littered about without rhyme or reason. She'd be sure to chastise her child on her insufficient standards of cleanliness at another time. If only she could locate her now, she'd be sure to receive a scolding for such a slovenly state of affairs. That is, if the fear of finding her dead did not frighten her so.  
Nonetheless, the imagination of her mind did little to soothe her anxious soul. What if she was off flirting with some boy? "...Kana?" What if monsters had surrounded the house and eaten her whole? "...Kana!" You should never have been a mother. "Kana!" It should have been Felicia giving birth to this baby, not you - Felicia would have never let her baby be left all alone. "KANA!"

  


"...Mama?"

  
The nasal calling that came from behind caused Flora to leap halfway off of the floor, nearly screeching in shock, only to turn and find her daughter standing in the place of what she had erroneously assumed to be a ghost or a ghoul or some Faceless searching for a mother's love that it certainly would not find in Flora. "Kana? You scared me half to death. Don't sneak up on me like that, dear." The sands of sleep lined her eyelids as she rubbed them away, but otherwise Kana appeared capable of recognizing her mother's presence despite her sleepy state. Her other hand hugged a sheet tightly around her shoulders, concealing the white sundress that Corrin had spoiled her with weeks ago on their last trip to see her. Still, something seemed strange. Flora's maternal instincts sensed that all was not well - that is, if the lack of lighting and the refusal to answer her calls were not enough indication on their own - although they conveniently concluded that they were unable to detect what was the cause of their suspicion. "Is something the matter, dear? I kept calling to you but you wouldn't respond. You made me worry..."

The mention of her mother's stress caused once-half-lidded eyes to shoot open in a second. Clearly, Kana still contained that irrevocable compassion whenever another's need arose. She was so much like Corrin in that sense. So much like Corrin, and so little like Flora. "I-I'm sorry, Mama! Really, I am. I didn't mean to make you worry." Kana kicked one foot against the ground in the most endearingly adorable way that Flora had ever seen, and if she weren't still in her rather frazzled state, she was certain she'd have smothered her daughter right then and there. Once the scuff had been polished off of her shoe, of course. "I don't wanna make you worry anymore, Mama, but I'm not feeling so well."

Immediately, her mother knelt down on the ground before her, one hand reaching up to brush against the skin atop her head. Chilled flesh met searing skin. "Even I can tell you're burning up," Flora surmised, her hands drifting down to rub her baby's shoulders in reassurance. It was then she noticed how thoroughly Kana shook. Chills and a fever, hmm? The flu seemed the most likely culprit, but her intuition told her otherwise. One could contract influenza only through contact with that which was thoroughly infected already. Unless that suspicious pile of plants and pottery on the counter was to blame, this could not be something so common. "Dear, why didn't you tell me? If your Father and I had known you were ill, we would have rushed over in a heartbeat."

Shame cast its shadow over the child's expression. Both the gaze of her eyes and the volume of her voice fell as she struggled to speak up. "W-well, you two are always so busy with the war. I don't wanna make you worry anymore than you already do. You oughta see me smiling, not sick." She paused, considering whether or not to actually articulate that which threatened to leave her lips or to keep it a secret she spoke to the darkness of her room when she sobbed in silence at night. "B-besides, you couldn't come last time...remember? I didn't wanna bother you guys again, soooo I didn't ask this time..."

Flora felt as though her heart had been ravaged by a horde of wolfskin. Here stood her daughter of - what? Thirteen? Hardly old enough to be labeled a teenager, let alone an adult - suffering in silence from issues no child should ever endure for the sake of one country's warmongering. Last time...when had been the last time that she had called on them? What had occurred that had drawn them away from their daughter? Let's see. Last they spoke was weeks ago, and it was just before then that they'd received an urgent message from Kana in need of their assistance. Ah yes, that was it. The invasion. Kana couldn't have chosen a worse time to miss her mother and her father than when King Garon had ordered them to march on Hoshido at an instant's notice. She still recalled the rage rising in Corrin's eyes as Iago reinforced the fact that no time had been granted to him to visit his darling daughter in another dimension. She would have to wait - they had a war to wage.

Without another word, Flora wrapped her arms round and round that tiny torso until she had enveloped her daughter in her embrace and she herself had found her face buried in the blanket of her baby girl. It smelled of the sunflowers that surrounded this estate, of the subtle scent of snow that sent memories of the Ice Tribe shooting to the surface of her mind once more, and of the lingering aroma of illness that saturated the house of the diseased. "I'm so sorry, Kana," Flora croaked, choking back the sobs and tears that threatened to escape her. Outside, the winter winds whipped about. Unable to vocalize another apology, Flora withdrew herself from the embrace after a moment of comfortable silence had slipped past. Determined, she looked dead into the eyes of her daughter. "Now listen here. I don't ever want to hear that you decided not to call on us. Your father and I are busy, true, but never too busy for you." She paused. "Not anymore, alright? Now it's back to bed with you. I can't have you up and about when you're sick as a dog." Flora gestured with her hands, shooing her child back to the bedroom, as she turned to return to the kitchen.

Kana shuffled a few feet away before stopping to turn back. Although she spoke nothing in this time, Flora recognized that her daughter lingered just beyond her gaze. What had she not understood about being ordered back to bed? It was then that the squeak of a prepubescent child came again. "You're not leaving...are you, Mama?"

By the gods, this girl would be the death of her. Flora turned her head to the side as she approached the counter, grin in place to disguise the guilt tearing at her heart. "Of course not, dear. Why would you think that I'd be leaving already? I only just got here." Remembering the mess on the island, she made a mental note. _Besides, there's too much of a mess to tidy up before I could leave in good conscience._

That answer appeared to have assuage whatever fears whispered to her daughter. Smiling slightly, and sniffling loudly, she responded, "Really?! I was hoping you would, 'cuz, well, I've been keeping the house spotless for you, in case you ever came. I know you like it clean, so I wanted to surprise you!" Both of their eyes drifted down to where the as-of-yet unknown ingredients rested. Sputtering, Kana added instantly, "O-oh, well, I can explain! You see, when I started getting all sick, I tried making those medicines Midori always told me about! Buuuut I'm not very good at it." A sheepish blush crept up the child's face, coloring her currently pale skin with a tint of crimson. "I started feeling all dizzy when I tried doing it, so I stopped to take a nap, and that's when you got here! But I promise, the rest of the house is super squeaky clean!" Triumph shone through the beaming smile she bore proudly on her face.

Taking another glance around the room, Flora took inventory of the condition of each and every inch of the house. Truth be told, her daughter had done a thorough job with the tidiness. The floors were swept without a dust Taguel left to linger only to be squashed by a stiletto or a barefooted friend, the fireplace was free of the soot and ash so commonly left in place, and, beyond the makeshift medicine, not a single item of trash remained to be seen. On closer inspection, however, one would discover cobwebs covering the ceilings where Kana could not reach with a feather duster despite trying to stand on her tippy-toes, the stain of tea on one of the couch cushions that had been rubbed relentlessly so as to conceal the damage dealt, and the effervescent aroma of teenage boy, no doubt in no small part due to Shiro and Asugi and all those other lovely, hygienic youngsters she hung out with. Still, she had to hand it to her. Kana really...well, she tried. At least she was better at cleaning than Felicia. "Well then, I'll have to finish the medicine in the meantime. Now march yourself into that bedroom until I'm done, do you hear me? Off you go!"

It took Kana trying five different configurations and ratios of blanket to skin (because sickness so cruelly and constantly changed her body temperature from that of a frostbitten infant to that of an overheated warthog) to finally find something comfortable enough to rest in, while Flora fought with directions in different languages ( _honestly, did Midori really need to write_ everything _in Hoshidan?_ ) until she had managed to concoct medicine capable of consuming. Without gagging, that is. Remedy in hand, Flora returned to her daughter's bedside and placed the potion on her nightstand. Her eyes roamed about the room, brain rushing to record every detail of it before she would return one day and Kana would be older, and wiser, and so unwilling to line the walls with crayon-colored drawings and photos of her family.  
"Why are you here?" The question caught Flora so off-guard that she could only stare blankly back at Kana, who was clearly shocked at her own courage in speaking up. Biting her bottom lip as she so often did when she was nervous, she attempted to collect her thoughts again and rephrase her sentence. "N-not that I'm not happy! Just surprised. I didn't know when you and Papa were coming next, so..." Her eyes fell upon the wrinkled conglomeration of blankets that cocooned her legs instead of turning to face Flora directly. That was just fine - Flora couldn't stand to stare straight into those pain-ridden irises anyways.

With a sigh, the elder answered, "Well, you see, dear, it's Mother's Day." Kana looked up at that, curiosity clearly overriding her awkwardness. Still, she did not interject with the obvious question of "what is Mother's Day?", and so, Flora continued on. "It's a holiday celebrated all throughout Nohr. Children make their mothers gifts and take them out to eat. Each and every family spends the day together in honor of one's mother." _Except for us_. Except for Flora and Felicia and Kilma. Except for Flora and Corrin and Kana.

Kana looked about ready to burst into tears, although Flora knew not why. "B-but, Mama! I didn't know! I could've picked you the prettiest flowers! And maybe Hisame could share some of his pickles with us! I'm so sorry." Was that what this outburst was all about? Flora couldn't help but laugh at that, fingers threading through her daughter's hair. The child's eyes showed an ease as opposed to their earlier welling.

"First of all, you're sick. I can't have you collecting gifts for me when you ought to stay in bed until you're better. Besides," she stopped herself, eyes clouding over as the truth settled in, "your father and I failed to teach you of such family affairs." Kana knew not what to say, and so only seemed to sift through a handful of possible responses in her head until none could be decided upon and silence settled between them. Flora's hand fell to touch her daughter's, only to be reminded of how violently she shivered. "How long have you been under the weather now?"

The question seemed all too uninteresting to Kana, who was staring out into the space outside her window, though she clutched her mother's hand with an iron grip. "I dunno. A couple of days ago, maybe?" Wonderful. She hadn't even had the decency to come to the side of her sick daughter for days on end. What a mother she was. Kana caught the guilt swelling within Flora's gaze and hurried to correct herself. "B-but it's okay! I only started feeling really sick today! So it's better that you're here now." Kana tugged her legs tighter against her chest then, releasing her mother's hand so as to cling to the safety of her own skin. "Besides, I didn't want the monsters to get you..."

Flora's eyes widened with horror. Monsters? Here, in the Deeprealms? No, that was utterly impossible, they'd been assured of that! ...hadn't they? Could Lilith have been all that certain of that fact? It seemed entirely too perfect to be true. Attempting to still her anxious nerves, she asked her daughter as coolly as possible, "there were monsters? Here, in the house? And you didn't call us? How in the world did you dispose of all of them?"

She laughed. Kana actually burst into laughter as soon as the words left Flora's lips. Stunned, Flora simply sat in silence as her child snickered and sneered in whatever practical joke she must be enjoying in the moment. Wiping away a tear that appeared at the edge of her eyes, Kana continued, "No, Mama, not _real_ monsters! I meant in my dreams!" Flora wasn't entirely sure whether to be relieved or mortified. Honestly, one would think such a detail should be the first thing mentioned in such a statement. "It's just that...I've been having these weird dreams lately. Really weird. Weird and...a little scary." Kana's voice hushed to that of a whisper, as if speaking louder would arouse the attention of whatever creatures lurked outside of their home. "Every time I have it, there's this huuuuge army of monsters! You should see it, Mama! There are more of them than there are flowers around the house! And, and then, and then this _HUGE_ ," at this, she made an explosive gesture with her hands, as if to differentiate from the fact that she just described both parties as "huge", "dragon that comes and saves the day!" Flora's irises intensify their gaze. "It's big and white and there's all this water and ice around it! And when it roars, all those monsters go running! But if you were here, who knows if the dragon would have come? Maybe he only likes little kids!"

As Kana's explanation came to a close, Flora responded with a weary grin and the words, "oh, the dragon would have come for me - I promise", in a tone that was all too knowing. _So, the time has come for her own awakening. Just as Corrin came to terms with his draconic heritage, so too will she. I wonder if he'll be delighted or terrified to learn that she holds his strength within her, too. It seems his draconic lineage and my Ice Tribe bloodline will allow her to harness ice, as her father harnesses water. An ice dragon for a daughter, hmm? I really do have my work cut out for me_. Tenderly, Flora tucked strands of hair back behind her ear that had fallen out of place in the midst of her storytelling. Her hands brushed back against that blazing flesh. No wonder her temperature had gone haywire - most human bodies had little idea of what to do with cold-blooded creatures, let alone ones who cavorted with dragons. That was likely Flora's fault, too.

"I wouldn't worry too much about being sick, Kana. Mama is a master medicine maker." She lied through her teeth, if only to reassure her child. She could recall each and every instance that Jakob criticized her lack of medicinal healing knowledge. Her retorts regarding the importance of one's reliance on magic staves seemed all too implausible to him at the time. "Now, swallow that dose whole, or else those monsters might eat you for real." When Kana's eyes widened, Flora feigned innocent ignorance. "Oh, didn't you know? Nobody wants to eat a little girl full of medicine. Far too bitter. Sick, stubborn little girls are their favorites."

It didn't take another threat to keep Kana from chugging the entire bottle down in one gulp. Now it was Flora's turn to laugh, giggling all the while as she rose so as to return to the kitchen. Perhaps a parfait was a suitable prize for such an obedient daughter. Her retreat, however, was stopped by a tiny hand grasping at her wrist.  
"Don't go," came the still small voice, struggling to speak through the muck of medicine that coated her throat. Flora turned to find Kana, halfway out of her bed, latched onto her arm for dear life. Icy eyes stared straight up at her, pleading with her on behalf of a child that could not convince herself to beg. _Those are my eyes_ , she realized, _and Father's...and Mother's, too_. "Please don't leave."

It was then that Flora fell to her knees - dirt be damned - and brought her baby girl into her arms so sweetly and strongly that neither of them would ever forget the feeling of such an embrace. Shakily, she whispers, "I will never leave you, ever again." Kana clings to her, and now the shaking that overtakes her is not an indication of sickness but of suppressed sorrow. Flora shooshes her, cooing sweet nothings into her ear as she strokes Kana's hair and assures her that everything will be alright. Soon enough, Kana's clutch eases and she is released. Her face is flushed as she attempts to stifle a sniffle or a sob, and Flora can only imagine how long it would take her to scrub out the snot and the tears from her uniform. Such was a mother's sacrifice. "There, there. It's all alright now. Why don't I stay with you tonight. Would you like that?"

Little Kana's face lightened like a Christmas tree, those shiny fangs sparkling as she spread her lips to smile. Oh, those dragon powers were awakening alright. At least she knew she wouldn't have to defend her daughter from any obnoxious boys. The beast inside could prevent perverts from trying anything too grotesque. "Heehee! Thanks, Mama! You're the best!"

"Of course, dear." Flora rubbed the top of that head one last time as little arms clung to her being before returning to her previous stance. "Now, I can only stay until morning. I'll need to go gather your father, you know. Not to mention, I need to come up with a way to convince him to let you join us." She sighed - that conversation had not gone so well the first time, either. This time, however, she would have her way. "I'll be back in a week's time. When I return, I expect a handful of flowers for your father - he's been far too weary lately, and he misses his baby girl awfully so." With a hint of mischief not often seen from Flora, she continued, "and, since someone forgot about Mother's Day, I believe I ought to be brought a bouquet of lavender, don't you think?" The two shared a smile at that, agreeing to set their scheme into action without another syllable needing to be spoken between them. "Now then, I thought you might want a parfait to help that nasty solvent go down. How does that sound?"  
Unlike the excited reaction Flora had expected, Kana returned her kindness with an expression of confusion. Crinkling her nose, she responded, "I thought I was supposed to eat soup when I'm sick?" Curses. Flora had taught her that, hadn't her? Darn her parenting skills. She should've left that lesson for after she'd learned to excel in cooking high-temperature appetizers.

"That would be correct," she relented with a grimace. Kana returned her expression with one of victory. It seemed that they both enjoyed being right at times. "Unfortunately, I'm none too wonderful at making hot meals. The Ice Tribe typically prefers frozen treats, you know." Before Kana could interject with an apology, Flora raised a single finger to shush her. "But, if that's what my little girl wants, then that's what my little girl will have. One chowder, coming right up." She curtsied, as she had so many times before for Corrin. She'd served her husband so many times before she'd even fallen in love with him - what harm could one time serving her sick child do?

Flora turned on her heel and revels in the glee she sees radiating from her daughter's face as she turns. "Hey, Mama?" She stops, waits, wonders. What could it possibly be now? She wasn't sure she could handle any more emotional distress. But instead of a confession, all she receives is a smile that seems all too bright for one living in such a dark world and the words, "I love you."

Flora's heart melts in that moment, but not from tears or stress or sorrow. An entirely separate emotion makes itself known to her in that time. It was the same emotion women always informed her would one day come, when she stared into her child's eyes and saw herself reflected back. Warmth welled inside of her as tears strained against their ducts. Outside, the winds shook the house, clouds covered the skies and snow fell freely onto the fields of flowers, forcing the sunflowers to flee from them, too. But the blizzard beyond these four walls was none that compared to the maelstrom of emotion welling within her heart.

"Happy Mother's Day, Kana."

**Author's Note:**

> I hope everyone enjoyed that! I apologize if the ending appeared rushed, or if there were any typos. I managed to squeeze writing this into a small slot of time I had between time to study for finals, and I wanted to upload it on the appropriate holiday.
> 
> Yes, the ending was supposed to allude to the Paralogue where Kana is recruited. Someone had to convince Corrin to show up to see his daughter, right?
> 
> Happy Mother's Day to all mothers, be they biological, adoptive, or spiritual.  
> And to all of those who mourn on this holiday for mothers they have lost or mothers they have never had, know that there is someone mourning alongside of and praying for you and for your mother.


End file.
